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Russian fairy tales (skazki)

"In English, we call them fairy tales. This term comes from the French contes des fées, which can be literally translated as "tales of the fairies"...In Russian, the designation for stories concerning the marvelous is skazka, meaning simply "story." Russian fairy tales are separated into numerous categories—volshebniyi skazki, or "magical tales," skazki o zhivotnykh, or "tales about animals," and bytovye skazki, or "tales of everyday life," to name only a few of the myriad varieties... Firebirds and firebrands, forests and fools, water and witches, puissant princesses and pulchritudinous princes: all of these and more are elements within the environment of Russian fairy tales. Many of these factors are similar to those found in fairy tales the world over, as are the history and structure of tales in Russia. However, the fairy tales of Russia also possess a number of characters who, though they have counterparts in other cultures, are unique to the Slavic tradition - including Baba Yaga, Koshchei the Deathless, and various spirits such as rusalkas, vodoniye, leshiye, and domovieye, to name only a few." Helen Pilinovsky

Bylina (coming from the word 'byl' or something that really happened) is a heroic epic speaking about bogatyri (mighty heroes), who protect the land of Rus from enemies and act for its unifying. They possess certain supernatural powers and have something in common with the Greek mythological heroes, though seem to have real prototypes. The images of bogatyri, such as Mikula Selyaninovich or the ideal mighty peasant Ilya Muromets, bespeak the high moral values of the Russian people. Bylinas are a poetic memorial of the past that present interesting types and paragons of personal and social virtues.

Fairy tales and bylinas reveal the inmost thoughts and feelings of the Russian people. Their general mood, peculiar for its poetic language, can probably give the insight into the 'mysterious Russian soul'.

English

Russian fairy tales (skazki) - more than 50 files.

Russian

Russian fairy tales (skazki) - about 70 tales in Russian language.
Russian bylinas - 14 bylinas about Russian bogatyri.